Odd One Out
by WysteriaWolf
Summary: I know it's an odd name, but stick with me here Leslie hides a secret that may get out when she wants to learn the Cullen ways. When she arrives in Forks, all laws of the supernatural are tested. Canon except OC/OC and mentions of Edward/OC and Jake/Leh
1. Chapter 1: First Impressions

**A/N: New story from me! Sorry, I was reading BD last week and finished it in three days by reading like 200 pages a day, so then this idea popped up! Hope you like it!**

**Chapter 1: First Impressions**

My strides were long, I was trying to move as quickly as possible through the dense forest. Had I been breathing, my breath would be coming in short gasps. The greenery would be blurred to a normal human's eye, but I saw every detail in perfect, clear Technicolor. Then again, I wasn't a normal human. My throat was burning from thirst. It had been weeks since my last good meal. Though I tried to feed as little as possible, it could sometimes be a real pain. Sooner or later, they would find me again, and I would have to go someplace new, crossing the continent over and over again. It had been like that for pretty much the last two years. They wanted me badly, and if they found me there would be no way to resist.

The forests here were nice, once I took the time to notice. They were lush and green this time of year, around mid-August. I could really get used to this part of Washington, despite the constant rain.

Suddenly I stopped dead in my tracks, as I picked up a nearby scent. It was familiar to me, yet slightly different than anything I'd ever tasted. It was my own kind. I figured Aro and the guard couldn't be too close to me, unless, of course, he brought Demetri again. Last I'd checked, the tracker had something else to do, though I wasn't sure what, so I was probably in the clear for a couple weeks, at least.

Though I knew I couldn't get tired, it would be nice to settle down for a couple days with some of my own, though I'd be on the run again, soon enough. When you had an ability that Aro wanted, he didn't give up easily.

I plunged ahead through one of the many forests in Forks, following the scent I'd picked up on until it began to strengthen. Now my run was more relaxed, less urgent. I didn't want to come on as a fugitive or something. I entered a clearing, where the many different scents of a coven mingled together for awhile. They must have been here before. Now all I had to do, was follow their trail back to their home. But what if I was following a migrating coven? No, I didn't think _this_ many vampires would all be running from place to place together. That would be a little to obvious, I think.

Quickly, I caught on to the scent trail of all of them intermingled, following it until I got to the biggest house I had ever seen before in my life. Well, besides the Volturi castle, but that's a castle, so... Technically, it doesn't count. Most of the walls were made of glass, and it had two stories, not to mention there was probably also a basement. But it was probably mostly for show. If they stuck around here for any amount of time, they'd need a human charade, and something told me that was the case.

They already knew I was here, from the sound of it. I could detect 9 different, hushed voices, and two heartbeats. Plus one stench I couldn't quite identify. I figured the stench and one of the heartbeats belonged to one person. But there was also a faint human, but not human smell. It instantly caught at my attention. I was cautious in approaching the door, not knowing what abilities they may have had. If they had any like mine, and attacked without warning, I was definitely in trouble.

I raised my fist to knock, but it was unnecessary. A man answered the door. He had sandy blonde hair and looked to be in his twenties. His eyes were an odd amber, something I'd never seen before on a vampire, though he definitely was one. He watched me for a moment, his eyes lingering longest on mine. Just as I'd never seen a vampire with amber eyes, he'd probably never seen one with pink. I smiled politely.

"My name is Leslie," I introduced myself. "I'm sorry to have come here so suddenly. I wouldn't have if it really wasn't necessary. You see, I've been running for the past couple weeks, basically nonstop. I know we don't tire, but it would be nice for me to settle down for a couple days, maybe have a small meal. If you don't mind anyway." The man glanced back at someone else in the room, as if checking the truth of my words. Oh, man, I really hoped it wasn't one of _those _guys again.

"Hello," the man greeted me. "We would like to be of service to you, but I'm afraid I'd like to ask you to refrain from taking a bite out of any humans in this area."

"Oh, man, you're not, like, those super territorial vampires are you?" I asked, my face scrunching up. I'd run into some like that before, and, trust me, they were not fun to deal with. "Just because they happen to be around our area at the moment, we officially have rights to them?" The man laughed, a nice sound, though there was no disguising the nervousness hidden under it.

"Oh, no," he said. "Why don't you come in and let me explain?" I heard a hiss from inside the house.

"Um, I'd really rather not..."

"No, it's fine, don't mind Rosalie," the man reassured me. He put his hand on my back and led me inside the grand house. I stood inside the door uncomfortably, feeling all their eyes on me. If I could have blushed, I would have.

"Feel free to have a seat..." the man said, gesturing to the couch. I didn't budge. "Alright, then. I am Dr. Carlisle Cullen, and this is my family. We have a lot to tell you."

* * *

I sat in the car, waiting. For what, I'm not sure. Jacob had told me how he had done this once, before Renesmee was born. Of course, it hadn't worked for him, and he had all the luck. I had negative three trillion as much luck as him. The odds weren't looking in my favor.

I was the newest werewolf- shapeshifter, whatever- and one of the very few left who had yet to imprint. All the ones who had already imprinted said it was just _because _I was the newest, but I was getting tired of waiting. I had to watch them all everyday, and it made me sick to my stomach, though not for the reasons I'd led them to believe. No one liked me, really. At times it felt like Seth was my only friend, and the others would really rather do without me. Leah said I was anti-social, but I always made _attempts _to join in with them. They just seemed to ignore me, mostly.

So I turned to my last hope of ever finding someone to talk to- imprinting. Though Jacob had only told us the story to make us laugh, it didn't seem like a bad idea to me, sitting by the street in Olympia, looking at every girl that passed, waiting for that magic-like connection. But what if the one for me wasn't even in Washington? I had the whole state to search, and the whole eternity to do it, but what if she was on the other side of the world? Would I really be able to find someone for me who was also close to home? I calmed myself down, realizing that my thoughts were getting to me.

"Hey, you."

I looked up at the tap on my window. There was a woman standing there, in a colorful sundress, smiling at me. I didn't know why she'd wear a _sundress _in west Washington state, the most sunless place in the world. I rolled down the window.

"Yes?" I questioned.

"I'm sorry to bother you," she said brightly. "But, are you looking for someone?"

"You could say that," I responded.

"Is there any way I could... maybe help you out?" She asked. "I don't mean to pry, but you look quite lonely over here, deep in your own world of thought."

"I don't think so," I sighed. After a moment of silence, I continued. "You see, I don't really know who I'm looking for. I'm just waiting... for the right one to come along, I guess."

"That... that's very sweet, I haven't heard something like that for such a long time," the lady sniffled. "Thank you, young man. I believe you have made my day. Well, good luck, then."

"Thanks," I told her, before she left. After a moment, I realized three things.

That encounter was really, really odd.

I was really becoming a sap with that whole 'waiting for right one' bit.

Sitting in a banged-up old car on a random street in Olympia was getting me nowhere, and probably also gaining me a lot of looks.

I sighed, and put the old '57 Studebaker that Jacob had fixed up into gear, moving slowly and hopelessly down the street.

* * *

I had promised myself I would stay silent throughout Carlisle's explanation, but now I was bursting with things to say.

"So I've been starving myself all this time for nothing?" I gaped. "I never thought of drinking animal blood instead of human blood! Oh gosh, all those humans I've killed, and for _nothing_? I feel so horrible and stupid now! Why didn't I think of that earlier? Carlisle, please, I'm begging you to teach me. I want to hunt animals instead. I want to learn to be a vegetarian like your family. You know, that term is kind of ironic, because for humans, eating only animals would make them carnivorous." The bulky one, Emmett, laughed at my outburst.

"Aren't you only going to be around for a couple days, though?" Rosalie asked.

"I could make an exception," I said. "Sticking around for a couple weeks or so to learn won't hurt anyone. Actually, it will help people instead."

"We would love to teach you, Leslie!" the small dark-haired girl, Alice, it was, cried. She'd started acting excited as I'd listened to Carlisle's explanation of the Cullen's ways. She hopped gracefully, even for a vampire, over to sit next to me on the couch. They all glanced at her with some hidden understanding. I figured she had some ability that could make them agree with her or something.

"Great!" I agreed, not paying attention to the others.

"Come on, we could start now!" Alice smiled. "I _promise _nothing's going to go wrong, Carlisle."

"We _are_ trying to get more vampires to be like us," Carlisle thought aloud. "Alright then. Alice, Emmett, you'll come with us."

Emmett to hold me back, and Alice because she was the only one who volunteered, I guessed. And of course Carlisle would be coming too.

"Great!" I agreed. Alice grabbed my hand.

"I've got a lot to tell you on the way!" she smiled, pulling me towards the door. I had this feeling that I wasn't going to be getting bored with Alice around.

**A/N So, would you have guessed this was a Twilight story right away if I hadn't told you? Tell me if anyone's too OOC, okay? I want to try to stay true to their personalities. **


	2. Chapter 2: First Lesson

**A/N I'm back here with another chappie before I set out on my vacation! Today was the first day of summer break and it was amazing! I slept most of the day because I stayed up almost all last night at my friend's birthday party, but still... Enjoy!**

**Chapter 2: First Lesson**

"You can see the future?" I asked incredulously. That would explain her promise that nothing would go wrong on our hunt.

"Yup," Alice nodded. "Except, It's a little more complicated than that. You see, the person whose future I'm reading has to make a conscious decision to do something. Then I can see what will come of it."

"That's still pretty neat," I smiled. She'd also told me about Jasper and Edward's abilities. I'd have to remember to watch my thoughts around him. I didn't need them knowing I was being hunted by the Volturi. If it came to them following me here, I could make my escape before they made it, and no one would have to know what they wanted. Unless of course, Aro told them. I was glad to have Alice around. It would make things easier, knowing she would warn me if they happened to find out where I was.

"Are you two going to just sit there all day or are we going to hunt?" Emmett asked jokingly. Alice and I had been standing in a small clearing, waiting for Emmett and Carlisle to scope out the area and make sure there were no humans around. According to him, I was still "unstable", which was probably _partly_ true.

"Come on, Leslie, let's get started!" Alice pulled me towards her brother, her excitement unphased by his comment. I was excited as well, almost as much as Alice, if that was possible. I'd found a loophole. I could be what I was and not have to starve or kill humans.

"So, what are we hunting?" I asked.

"Carlisle smelled a small herd of deer a little ways northwest of here," Emmett replied. "We're going to try and start with that. There should be enough for all of us."

"Sounds good to me," I smiled before beginning to run. Alice was by my side in a couple seconds, and I could hear Emmett not too far behind. I threw out my senses to locate Carlisle, finding him a half mile straight ahead. Sure enough, I saw him after a few seconds, coming to an abrupt halt with Alice at my side. A millisecond later, Emmett joined us.

"Alright, how do we do this?" I asked, locating the deer herd as I did so. It was an approximate ten second run from here, up north.

"Leslie, you go on ahead, we'll be right behind you," Carlisle instructed. I nodded. I ran at a slower pace than normal, though it would still be extremely fast for a human. I was pinpointing the deer, listening to their heartbeats. The luscious, juicy sound of the blood moving through their veins accelerated as they began to run. They knew I was near. I picked up the pace. They weren't getting away from me.

The muscles in my legs tensed as the first deer came into sight- a medium sized buck. I sprung at it, my teeth digging into the soft flesh on my neck. The warm, salty tang of its blood gushed into my mouth, and I sucked it down quickly. It wasn't as good as human blood, but for me right now, it was the best taste in the world- it was an alternative. The liquid helped soothe my burning throat, but it barley helped, I was still so thirsty.

The next thing I knew, I was on my feet, listening for the rest of the herd. They were nearby, the sounds of their heartbeats making my mouth water. Well, actually, I wasn't sure if vampire's mouths could water, but that was what it felt like. I came down quickly on the next deer, a doe, draining it as quickly as I had the other one. One of the remaining two had been running with this one, so I ran after that one next, taking it down with ease. I'm not sure what happened next, but then I was leaning over the body of the other one, sucking down it's blood, feeling the cooling in my throat.

Then, the other three were there. Carlisle and Alice were staring at me incredulously while Emmett laughed his head off. I realized I'd just taken down the whole herd.

"Oh!" I cried. "I'm so sorry! It's been over a month since I last fed, I didn't mean to take the whole herd. I don't know what came over me."

"No, It's alright," Carlisle reassured me. "It's just, I've never seen anyone do that before."

"You were amazing, Leslie!" Alice cried, a huge smile across her face. "I don't think you're going to need much help with the whole hunting part of it."

"I'm really sorry for taking your share," I apologized again, still feeling the burning in my throat. "We could go find some others for you if you'd like."

"Jeez!" Emmett laughed, speaking for the first time. "You're aggressive, just what we needed around here. Some action! Well, discounting Bella and Edward's nights..." I wasn't sure what that was supposed to mean, though I had a faint idea, but Alice definitely didn't like it, which she showed by elbowing him in the ribs. Carlisle continued to ignore all of this, which I was sure took a _lot_ of practice.

"We've got the easy part done with," he said. "Now we're going to have to get into the hard part."

Esme, Edward, and Jasper were anxious to hear how I did on my first animal hunt, and if Alice's prediction came true. Rosalie and Bella didn't seem to care much. Then there were the werewolf and the girl, who were still being cautious around me.

"Man, she took down the whole herd!" Emmett laughed. "You should have seen her! Then the mountain lion... that thing just had absolutely no chance around her!" I punched Emmett's arm, probably harder than I meant to, pretending not to notice his small grunt of pain.

"There weren't any humans around, so we didn't get a chance to test her tolerance," Carlisle was explaining to Jasper. "Then again, I'm not saying that that was something I was going to risk."

"I bet if there were any humans around, you would have been just fine!" Alice supported me. "Especially after those deer." I smiled.

"Thanks, Alice." I was already getting along with the psychic Cullen. She'd had so much faith in me from the very beginning, and I was sure her ability had something to do with that, but I still was glad for it.

"Alice, I'm sure you're not going to want to miss out on Renesmee's birthday party," Bella called in an obvious attempt to pull her away from me. I growled softly. Edward shot me a sympathetic look, shrugging.

"Who, or should I say _what_ is Renesmee, exactly?" I asked no one in particular. I'd been wondering that ever since I'd gotten here. The little girl looked a little over ten years old, and I'd never heard her speak. I had, however, determined her to be the source of the vampire-yet-not-vampire scent I'd detected upon arrival.

Bella hissed at my question. Obviously, she didn't like me calling the girl a _what._

"Bella, love, please relax," Edward said, moving quickly closer to her, almost making himself an obstacle between her and me. "It was an honest question. You know that any other vampire probably would have jumped quickly to the assumption that she was an immortal child, and taken it up with the Volturi again. At least give her a break for thinking things through."

I thought of four things. First: What was an immortal child, and why did it sound so bad? Second: Going to the Volturi would be the _last_ thing I would do, even if they were my only hope of living. Third: What exactly did he mean by _again_? Forth: I was being referred to as 'her' a lot. I had a name, people!

"I know this may sound a little odd to you," Edward began, answering my original question, "but Renesmee is Bella and my daughter."

My mouth dropped to the floor, and I froze in place. Vampires could have _children_? Why had I never heard of this before?

"Renesmee was conceived before Bella became a vampire," Edward continued. "Actually, her birth was the reason for her mother's immediate changing. Afterwards, we had a little run-in with the Volturi, who thought she was an immortal child, and they were misinformed, may I add. Renesmee is a half-breed, really. Not full vampire, and not full human. And _definitely _not immortal. Carlisle can tell you more about the immortal children later."

I stared incredulously at the child holding the werewolf's hand, safely protected between him and her mother. I'd never seen anything like her before. Her heartbeat fluttered in my ears in a different way than it had before- more meaningfully.

"She was wanting to meet you before," Edward said. "Renesmee, would you like to tell our new friend Leslie about yourself?"

The little girl smiled and nodded. She broke away from the werewolf's grip and came over to her father and me. Bella took a step forward, as if warning me. I barley noticed. I leaned down to the little girl. Upon examining her more closely, I noticed she really was just like Edward. But I couldn't quite tell where her curly hair came from, though the color was like her mother's.

"Hello, Renesmee," I greeted her, leaning down so I could look into her beautiful, bright eyes. Her brilliant smile in return made me unable to resist giving her one of my own, though it was weak in comparison. Then she reached out and touched my cheek.

Suddenly, images were flashing through my mind-things I'd never seen before. There was the Cullens in a clearing, the one I'd come across earlier, surrounded by over a dozen huge wolves and over thirty vampires. Across from them was the entire Volturi guard, and the three-Aro, Caius, and Marcus- plus in the background, more vampires. I knew they were just pawns, supporters. That must have been what Edward had mentioned.

Then I saw images of a slightly younger Renesmee and Jacob out playing in the front yard.

After that it was out in the forest, somewhere probably near where I'd been, and her mother and father by the body of an animal I couldn't quite identify, and the werewolf, I assumed, beside her.

The next one was of me, coming through the front door into the living room, and Carlisle explaining their lifestyle. And Alice's excitement as I listened to my loophole.

Then I saw what had been happening just a minute ago through her eyes- Edward and me standing side by side as she'd come up to me.

"What just happened?" I asked, coming back to the present now. Renesmee was still at eye's height from me, smiling her brilliant smile. Edward laughed, and it took me a couple seconds to realize that he would have seen what his daughter had just shown me as well.

"That's her ability, Leslie," he explained. "She can show people what she's seen. She prefers to communicate that way. And she thinks you look like me."

"That's amazing, Renesmee," I smiled in awe. "You're really something special, you know that?" I reached out and ruffled her hair, feeling Bella tense across the room as I did so. I didn't know exactly what she was so nervous about. I'd never thought of biting the girl even when I first smelled her. She was too much like our own kind.

She reached out to me again, showing me a picture of her in my arms. I smiled and picked her up- she weighed little under my strength. Especially being small for her age.

"I heard it's going to be your birthday soon," I told her. "Would you mind if I stick around and help you celebrate?"

"I'd like that," the girl said softly, speaking for the first time since I'd arrived. Her voice sounded light, like a chime-the classic ring of a vampire's, but also more down to earth. It was strange and wonderful, and made me catch my breath a little.

"Would you like to help us plan, then?" Alice asked me.

"Oh, that would be fun!" I agreed quickly, feeling Renesmee lean into my chest. I quickly glanced at Bella, feeling that would become a habit soon enough. She seemed cautious still, but a little more relaxed since I'd seen what Renesmee had to show me.

"I've already assembled a guest list, so now all that's left is the decorating and cake," Alice began rambling.

"That's just like you, Alice," Bella laughed, rolling her eyes. "It's not going to crowd the house, I hope?"

"Nah, it shouldn't," Alice responded. "Besides, I was thinking we could have it mostly outside. A house full of werewolves would be a little cramped, I think."

"Who all's invited?" The werewolf asked, coming to join our committee.

"Everyone, of course, Jacob!" Alice laughed. "It's not like me to leave anyone out, you should know that by now!"

"What about Charlie? He'll want to come, too," Bella added in. Alice glanced at me.

"Well, I wasn't planning on Leslie showing up..." she paused. I immediately understood. A human. So did that mean that I was getting kicked out?

"After thinking about it though, I bet Charlie wouldn't mind a little private family party the day after," Alice continued. "The strictly need-to-know basis thing should keep him from asking too many questions or objecting too strongly."

"Who's Charlie, exactly?" I blurted.

"My dad," Bella answered. "I haven't been a vampire for that long. Only four years, _two days ago._" She glared at Alice during this statement, and the black-haired vampire just laughed lightly.

"So you don't want to be 23 starting today?" Alice asked.

"No."

I glanced between the two of them, trying to figure things out. Renesmee flashed a few more images into my mind: a birthday party for Bella, only the second time the girl had seen her mother. So I figured that was after the long painful vampirization process. That must have meant Bella's first day being conscious was also her birthday.

"I am _not _nineteen forever," Bella continued to object at Alice. "Technically, I was turned two days before my birthday. Forever eighteen, end of discussion."

I laughed lightly.

"I see," I told Renesmee. "That's a funny joke." The child smiled again before leaning her head back against my shoulder.

"Come on, guys, we're supposed to be planning a party here," I reminded them.

"I don't think there's much more I can do in this department, then," the werewolf said. "I'll go let the others know they're invited." I wondered by what magical wolfy connection he was going to do that.

Suddenly Edward was by my side.

"He has a name you know, Leslie," he whispered in my left ear, quoting the thoughts I'd had earlier. I could see the smile on his face- so much like his daughter's.

"Alright, I get it," I laughed. Alice and Bella turned towards us, not quite sure what was going on. _Jacob._ There Edward, I thought it. Jacob just shrugged and left. I was sure he got enough of the mind-reading stuff everyday. I heard his howl outside a little bit later, before anyone inside the house spoke again. It was a little ways off in the distance, probably to keep the whole group of werewolves off the Cullen's front porch.

Alice continued with her planning after the howl died off a little ways, though Bella still seemed extremely curious. Edward casually walked off to make some kind of conversation with Jasper.

"Esme, do you think you could get started on the cake while we try to agree on a theme?" Alice requested from her mother. "It doesn't need to be anything huge, remember, just enough for a piece for each of the wolves, a few pieces for Renesmee, and an extra bit for Charlie. We're going to have to make Jacob and his pack an entire extra meal."

"You sure we shouldn't just order a cake?" I asked. "Having a vampire make it doesn't seem like the best idea, in my opinion."

"Cooking channel," Alice and Bella said at the same time.

"Oh," I said. Then laughed a second later. "Well, we'd better get to brainstorming, then."

**A/N Speaking of birthday parties... Honestly, I did not plan that. Well, enjoy your early chapter and don't forget to R&R!**


	3. Chapter 3: Invited

**A/N: Yeys! I'm back with another chappie! Hope all you werewolf lovers enjoy this WHOLE chapter from Jacob's pack's point of view. Werewolf haters STILL need to read it, cuz it's IMPORTANT to, like, everything in the next few chapters! Don't criticize me about forgetting the minor characters that were mentioned three times in Breaking Dawn. I think I got all the major people down, and if I'm missing somebody, they went on vacation- no questions asked. (But tell me if I did, okay? I can bring them back later, then.) Enjoy!**

**Disclaimer: I own none of Stephanie Meyer's characters or places or whatever you recognize from the book! But Leslie and Ryan are mine, you hear that?**

**Chapter 3: Invited**

_What's the matter? What's going on? _I asked urgently, my brown paws hitting the ground hard as I ran. I'd heard the howl of my pack calling me away from the beach, meaning I was late again.

_Nothing's the matter, Ryan. Why are you always so negative?_ Paul teased.

_You're late as usual, newbie,_ Leah told me, ignoring everything else.

_You're cold as a fish, as usual, _I returned without missing a beat.

_Guys, stop fighting long enough to let me tell you the good news! _Jacob commanded. _Jeez, I swear I must be leading a bunch of toddlers sometimes. _Though he wasn't using his influence now, it was still hard to ignore the Alpha.

_So, what did you call us here for, Jake? _Quil asked, kind of as a sign for him to get on with it.

_Well, you know how Nessie's birthday is coming up, right?_ Jacob began. _Alice is holding a big party, as usual, and she was so kind as to invite all of us._

_Does she know what she's getting herself into? _Seth asked, barking with laughter in the distance.

_Seth, they're vampires, they could rip our heads of if they wanted, be nice,_ Jacob sighed. _Hey, at least she bothered to try. _

_You guys can be really immature, _I thought back, sort of unconsciously.

_Hey, don't count yourself out,_ Embry responded.

_I never said I was._

_Back to the matter at hand: you're all going to come to the party, or I'll force you to,_ Jacob continued. _It was nice for them to count us in. And no, Paul, you cannot use my sister as an excuse anymore. We've all gotten better at being away from our objects of bonding over the last couple years. I know you all can spend less than a day away from them for this. _

_Aw, man! _Paul complained.

_Hey, speaking of imprinting, how's your girlfriend hunt going, Ryan?_ Quil asked teasingly. I growled.

_You do know I told you about that time before Nessie as a _story _right?_ Jacob asked.

_It wasn't _that _bad of an idea,_ I grumbled, not exactly wanting to have this conversation at the moment. I tried to focus on the scenery instead, but there was no way to blot out the rest of the pack's thoughts.

_If you don't imprint, it's not like it's the end of the world, dude, _Seth tried to reassure me. _It is supposed to be _rare, _according to the old legends. Though that doesn't seem to be the case with the wolves of today, huh? Hey, I haven't imprinted and I'm doing just fine. _

_That's the point, though, _I objected. _None of you were as lonely as I am now. I have no one to talk to. If I could ever have a hope of having a friend, it would be with imprinting. _There was silence for a moment after that thought. I really would have preferred to keep my anger from being directed at them, but in wolf form, that wasn't really possible. I thought what I thought, and all my thoughts could be heard by the rest of my pack as if I was reading them from a book.

_I'm your friend, right? _Seth asked, and I could detect the whimper to his tone.

_Of course, Seth, _I thought. _I'm sorry, I didn't mean it quite like that. It's more like I don't have a best friend who I hang out with every Saturday and stuff. _

_That's because you're always thinking about imprinting, and _nobody _wants to hear your moping, Ryan, _Leah scoffed.

_I love you too, Leah, _I sighed.

_Jeez, give the poor guy a break, he's kind of in the same position as I was before Nessie, _Jacob thought. _Except his heart hadn't been stomped out by some vampire. Oh, man I hope Edward wasn't listening to that. Hey, Edward, I didn't mean that! Things are different now, right bro? _

_Thanks,_ I told the Alpha. _And that's how you felt before you imprinted, I'm sure that he can understand that._

_I'm sure you're not _that _unlikable, _Embry told me.

_Thanks for the support, _I grumbled. _You know, I was thinking, guys. All of you who _have _imprinted... it was lucky for you that your bonded was in Forks. What if mine is on the other side of the world? I may never meet her and end up being lonely for all of eternity. _

_That's kind of a worst case scenario, you know Ryan,_ Paul said. _You know something? I'm hungry._

_You're _always _hungry, Paul, _Leah sighed.

_Well, since you're bringing it up, I'm going to tell you my theory. _Seth cut in. _I was kind of thinking about the same thing after my last patrol with Ryan. I had this idea that there were a few different girls-_

_Ahem, _Leah interjected, annoyed.

_Or guys, _Seth continued, without missing a beat, _out there that we could imprint on. Like maybe a dozen that have the same kind of look or personality. They'd be like our plan Bs in case we didn't meet one of them. I mean, what are the odds of us meeting _all _of those girls... or guys right? But then, once we imprinted... well, kind of like what we're learning in health class right now, with reproduction and fertilization..._

_Ok, too much information, Seth! _Jacob quickly cut him off.

_Sorry, _Seth apologized.

_The kid's got a point though, _Quil thought. _That's a pretty bang-up theory he's got going on there. Sounds like something your old man would think up, Jake. _

_That could very well be true, _I agreed. Mostly I was just saying that because his idea helped lift my spirits a little, but we were running around as giant wolves right now. I really wouldn't put that past the crazy secret world that we were a part of.

_Seth, you should present that idea to my dad the next time you see him, _Jacob suggested.

_Aye-aye, captain! _Seth agreed eagerly. There was a simultaneous groan from me and the rest of the pack in my mind.

_How many times have we told you not to say that? _Leah complained.

_Whoops, sorry!_

_Hey, guys, I forgot to mention one other thing about the party, _Jacob said.

_Oh, man, they're not going to serve us much food, are they? _Paul moaned.

_No, Paul, there'll be plenty of food for us. Alice is going out of her way to make sure we get a whole separate meal of our own, _Jacob sighed. _What I was going to say is that there's going to be a new face at the party. _

_More vampires?_ Embry asked. _Jeez, isn't their family big enough already?_

_As long as they know the rules, _Leah said. _You know I wouldn't hesitate to rip them into shreds if they disobeyed. _

_Yeah, we know, _the rest of us thought at the same time.

_Her name is Leslie, she looks a lot like Edward with her orange hair and all, _Jacob continued. _She's only supposed to be staying for a couple weeks to learn the Cullen's "vegetarian" ways. But she's going to be joining in on the party. She's already gotten pretty attached to them, Renesmee and Alice especially. Though, like the rest of us, the ice queen isn't exactly her type. _

_Hey, I like her already, _Quil laughed.

_Also, we don't know how much tolerance she has for the smell of human blood, _Jacob added. _So, if anything is to go wrong... _

_Now while we're around! _Paul boasted.

_But you gotta take into account you guys' luck, _I reminded them. _You're always getting into _some _kind of trouble, it seems. _

_But it's been pretty quiet lately, _Embry protested. _Hey, maybe what we could use is a little more action around here. _

_Don't even think about stirring things up! _Jacob warned.

_I wasn't! _Embry defended. _Really, if I was you would have heard!_

_He's got a point, _Seth pointed out.

_Look, guys, I'm going to go let them know that you're all coming, _Jacob began to call the meeting to a close. _I'll tell Sam about it later, but right now I'm tired. I didn't get that much sleep last night with the new girl around. I kept waiting for her to get back from her hunt and see if she was going to try to eat me and Nessie or not. _

_Don't worry, Jake, we'll make sure things are calm with a quick patrol of the area, _Leah assured him. _You go ahead and get some rest. _

_Thanks, Leah, _Jacob said lastly before his connection dissipated, signaling his turn into a human.

_Can I come with? _I asked. _I could use a nice perimeter run right about now. _

_Alright, _Leah agreed. _But no depressing me with your thoughts about imprinting, got it? _

_Sounds good, _I agreed. I like Leah in her "beta mode." She was so much nicer then. But she was also more authoritative then, too. Ah, well, I guess you just can't be perfect when it comes to Leah. Unless it's from her own perspective, anyway.

_Hey, keep your thoughts to yourself, moron! _Leah growled.

_That's a little impossible, _I reminded her.

_Nice one, Ryan! _Quil congratulated me, howling with laughter.

_It _is _true, sis, _Seth added in. _Well, sometimes, anyway. _

_Make that most of the time, _Paul grumbled.

_If you're all going to be so cocky, I'm making someone else go out on patrol! _Leah warned.

_No, no, no, no, no, no, no! _Seth thought. _That'll be my fifth time this week!_

_Aw, man! I'm not really up to breaking in the new vampire girl._ Quil objected. _The Cullens took her in, why can't _they _make sure she's not getting herself into trouble?_

_Hey, man, it's our responsibility, too. _Embry reminded him. _We're supposed to be keeping Forks safe. _

_Hah, I thought not, _Leah said smugly. _So shut up and go home all of you. And at least _try _to find something decent to the party. For Jacob._

_I've got plenty of that,_ I thought. _If you guys need something, I'm sure I could find a shirt or two to spare. _

_Oh, of course!_ Embry sighed.

_Do you _have _to go bring _that _up again?_ Paul growled.

_Dude, of course you'd throw that at our faces, _Quil grumbled.

_Thanks for the offer, Ryan, but I actually just got something that I can use for the party, _Seth said.

_What did I tell you about shutting up and going home? _Leah shouted.

Slowly, the others' voices faded out as they morphed back to humans, and eventually it was just me and Leah. It was a little weird at first because I'd never been completely alone with her before.

_Come on, you start over on the east, and I'll start on the west. _Leah commanded. _We'll go around twice, then I'll check closer to the house once, just to make sure the peace is being maintained. _

_Right, _I agreed.

I kept my thoughts on the patrol as I ran around the perimeter, sharpening my senses to distract myself. Occasionally, Leah gave me a mental report, and I'd return what was going on in my area. I could tell where the new vampire was by the sound of her voice. She only talked occasionally, and laughed a lot, but she wasn't very quiet. There was something about her voice that I especially liked. The others all had that kind of ring when they talked, but hers was just... it was hard to explain.

_Are you falling for a _vampire _girl? _Leah teased.

_No! _I cried. _It's nothing like that!_ I responded. Leah just laughed.

_Uh-huh, sure. _

We continued around the area, hitting the second loop. Near the end, I ran into Leah.

_Go home, newbie, _she said, _all's calm around here. _

_Thanks, _I responded, branching back off towards La Push after Leah passed me, and I knew she was moving closer to the house. I picked up the speed to get home as fast as possible so I could think and not bug Leah, or whoever else decided to morph into a wolf while I still had fur. Eventually, I had nothing more to distract me. Halfway through the forest, I morphed back to my human form.

My mind exploded into thoughts- of the vampire girl and how much trouble she was sure to be; of the party and how close I was going to be watching her then. Then one important thought that hadn't actually occurred to me earlier.

I had to go, but no one said anything about participating.

**A/N: I'm sure I didn't list every person's every thought here, but that would be, like, fifteen pages of worthless dialouge, and they don't even do that in the real book (except for the fifteen pages part- there are long chapters :). Ok, I'm sure you _definintely _see where this is going by now. If not, there are plenty of hints. Also, some things will be explained more later, so no questions about what they said/thought, OK?**

**Now, I wrote this chapter late, late at night and a few things may seem unclear, so, to straighten it out a bit...**

_I'd heard the howl of my pack calling me away from the beach, meaning I was late again. _**I _think _I meant something along the lines of -Ryan was at his house and didn't hear the pack _until _he was at the beach.**

_Though, like the rest of us, the ice queen isn't exactly her type. _**Ice Queen = Rosalie (And, personally, I actually like Rose, but she just doesn't seem like someone Leslie would get along with)**

**And I might want to mention somewhere along here that it's been a few years since the end of BD, and this will be Renesmee's "Fourth" birthday. I imagine her looking around the age of eleven or twelve at this point. **

**I think that's finally everything, and so it's time to say goodbye until my next update! If anything is still unclear, feel free to ask me. And don't forget to R&R (rate and review) or the next chapter will purposely be coming later then next Tuesday! (Until I get some sort of review.) You've been warned. **


	4. Chapter 4: Celebration

**A/N Yes, I gave in and gave you a chappie because I can't even tell you how much I want to continue with this story. So, you're welcome. But was last chapter really so uninteresting that I didn't get _any_ reveiws? All I'm asking for is something like 'I can't wait to see what happens' or 'you should improve so-and-so', something to keep me motivated, guys. I promise things will start getting more interesting this chapter. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing you recognize from the books! That's all Stephanie Meyer, folks.**

**Chapter 4: Celebration **

It was impossible to argue with Alice. I wanted to do a butterfly- nature theme, while Bella though that every little girl should have a princess party. But Alice argued against us because we were completely against nature in every possible way, and that Renesmee had never taken an interest in princesses and the like. _She_ wanted a wolf theme, like Jacob. And with Alice's psychic ability, she already knew what arguments we would put out before we said them. So Bella and I quickly gave up.

"Alright, we'll go with the wolf theme," I sighed. "Oh, man, we're going to have a _lot _of cocky, annoying werewolves at this party. I'll go tell Renesmee and see what she thinks." I stood up and ran outside, where Edward was watching Jacob and Renesmee play tag.

"Alice get the best of you?" Edward chuckled, already knowing the answer.

"I can't imagine you arguing with her very often," I said, shaking my head. Then I turned to the werewolf, now holding the girl in his arms. "Renesmee, can I pull you away for a moment?"

She touched her hand to his cheek. He sighed before bringing her over to the steps that I was standing in front of.

"She's so excited about this," Jacob sighed. "I suppose I'm going to have to hand her over to you so she can learn what's going on with her birthday."

"I'm not keeping her forever," I promised, taking Renesmee from his arms into mine. "And I think you'll like what we've decided." Edward laughed beside me, reading my mind again. "After debating a little while... well, not a debate really, you know Alice. She wants to center your birthday party around wolves."

She touched my cheek, showing me a picture of a giant russet-colored wolf-Jacob.

"Yes, like him," I smiled. Renesmee smiled back at me before turning around and showing Jacob our plan.

"What do you know? The vampire was right, I do like that idea!" Jacob grinned. "But, of course, it's up to you."

"That sounds fun," Renesmee told me. "Thank you." She put her arms around my neck and hugged me. I lightly hugged her back.

"Aw, you're welcome, Nessie," I replied. Instantly I heard Bella's shout from inside the house.

"Oh man, not you too?" She shouted. I looked over at Edward and Jacob, who were laughing their heads off, confused.

"What did I do?" I asked.

"Bella doesn't really like that nickname," Edward explained. "It reminds her of the Loch Ness Monster. You should have seen her try to bite Jacob's head off, literally, when she first heard him call her that."

"Wait a minute, I just came up with that!" I cried. "You mean you were actually using it before this?" I'd been thinking about a nickname for her, since Renesmee was kind of a tongue-twister and got tiring to say all the time. But I never would have guessed that I wasn't the first to think of Nessie.

Then I began laughing along with the rest of them.

"Sorry, Bella!" I apologized. "In my defense, I knew nothing about this!" I handed Nessie back up to Jacob once he'd quieted his laughter a little farther.

"Here, you'd better take her back," I said. "We've got work to do."

The party preparations went smoothly, especially with Jacob modeling for me. I made some paintings of wolves for decorations to put on the side of the house, and one special one for Nessie's present since I didn't exactly own any money. I'd never made any art of wolves before. Vampires and werewolves weren't exactly supposed to get along. But, in the few days since I'd gotten here, I'd really gotten to like them. They were nothing like the wolves I'd met in California.

Esme made an amazing looking cake that any human would probably die for. It didn't smell too bad, either. But the other things she made smelled awful. There was some kind of fancy noodle thing covered with sauce made of milk and flour and sprinkled with cheese and all sorts of spices that burned my mouth when I took in their scents.

When Jacob smelled it, though, he went crazy, wanting to eat it right away. It took Emmett and I to hold him back, and Jasper's ability to calm him down while Esme put it in the fridge.

Saturday came around quickly, and all the werewolves showed up around eleven in intervals. I noticed that Jacob was looking around for someone.

"Hey, Jacob, what's the matter?" I asked, approaching him. He glanced over me in the midnight blue silk dress that Alice had given me. It was sleeveless and really big and fluffy from the waist down. Luckily, I was still able to move pretty well in it, being a vampire, but the fanciness embarrassed me. "I would be blushing right now if I could."

"Don't worry about it, you look good," Jacob laughed. Then he sighed. "I'm still waiting for Ryan to show up. He was so unenthusiastic about this, but he promised to be here. I hope he shows up on his own so I don't have to make him get the hell over here this instant."

"I'm sure he'll come," I tried to assure him. "I wouldn't dare break a promise to you. Why don't you go play with Nessie? I'm sure she won't want you to be upset at her party."

"Yeah, okay," Jacob said, smiling again. "Thanks, Leslie."

"No problem," I said, before wandering in Edward's direction. He was over by Bella and Renesmee. Jacob was talking to Bella and cooing over Nessie. Edward walked away from them and towards me when he heard what I wanted to ask him.

"I'm sorry, I just don't know anyone," I apologized. "I feel a little out of place."

"That's okay," Edward said. "I'll tell you who's who."

_

* * *

_

Oh, man, I'm late!

I thought, running as fast as I could in human form. _Jacob's going to kill me! _I was trying not to get my suit caught on branches or my shoes dirty while I ran along the side of the path, but it was kind of hard. I couldn't morph into a wolf now, my clothes would definitely get dirty then. But I smelled them, they were close. The stench of vampires and familiar scent of my pack.

The house quickly came into my view. I slowed down to a quick walking pace, catching my breath in the last few yards. It looked like they hadn't gotten around to doing anything yet, just talking so far. I sighed with relief.

"Jacob!" I called, sighting the Alpha near the house. He turned towards me, holding Renesmee in his arms. She was in a light pink, frilly dress- the work of Alice, I was sure. He waved at me, smile widening. Then a flash of dark blue caught my sight in my peripheral vision.

I turned to see her by Edward- the new vampire. She glanced in my direction at my arrival, and our eyes met.

My world froze. Everything went black around her. I could only barley hear the others around us. She was like nothing in the world, with her beautiful orange hair and tangerine-colored eyes. My heart felt like it was about to pound out of my chest. All I could do was stare at her.

Then, suddenly I knew what this was.

* * *

My eyes were locked on the new arrival. He was different than all the other werewolves. He was wearing a nice suit, though there were leaves covering it, and his hair was much shorter, though still kind of long for a boy's. And he kept staring at me. A whole minute passed without his eyes leaving me. It made me kind of uncomfortable.

"Edward..." I prodded the mind-reader. He glanced over at me, noticing what I was staring at. He quickly followed my gaze to the odd werewolf. I looked up as he chuckled.

"What? What's so funny? What's he thinking about?" I demanded.

"Jacob's relieved to see that Ryan's here," he muttered to himself before answering my string of questions. "He thinks you're pretty, that's all, really."

"_What?_" I hissed softly. "That _werewolf_? I thought they didn't like us!"

"Well, he's not the first one, with you in _that_ dress," Edward muttered. "Jeez, Alice... sure made her stand out far enough."

I looked back at the werewolf- _Ryan _I corrected myself- incredulously. Jacob was dragging him away towards the present table.

"You better have gotten something," I heard him say.

"Can we please do some kind of organized thing now?" I begged. Edward laughed, and began to weave his way through the crowd, probably to one of his parents or Bella. A short minute later, I heard Carlisle calling everyone's attention.

"If we could have a small moment of silence..." he began. "I would like to invite all the werewolves to enjoy a special meal made by my wife Esme." He chuckled. "We'll stick around, of course, but it's not exactly like we can eat."

The two packs gathered around the giant, fancy, fold-up dining table that we'd set up only just before the werewolves started arriving. Jacob was sitting at the head of the table with Nessie, who was holding a cup of blood that Carlisle had provided for her. Apparently, they'd been trying to get her to eat more human food, but since it was her birthday, he made an exception.

"C'mon, Nessie, would you please just _try _the food that grandma Esme made you?" I tried to persuade her. The stuff smelled awful to me, but Esme had taken so long to make it. "Please?"

Nessie took a small hesitant bite of the fancy sauce-covered noodle thing and swallowed it. She made a face at me after it had gone down.

"Yeah, I know, didn't smell that good to me either," I sighed. Oh, well, I was sure the werewolves could easily take care of the rest.

Nessie finished her cup of blood before the werewolves finished their meal, of course. I'd never seen anything eat so much before. Alice had been right about their hearty appetites. And I'd been worried that Esme had made too much. Once I saw them start, I switched to worrying that she hadn't made _enough_. But the werewolves finished their meal without complaining of malnourishment, so I figured that it was better that I wouldn't have to hear it than to have them full. I was just glad they had enough manners to not beg for more like dogs- pun intended.

The only one who hadn't touched his food was Ryan. I could have heard his stomach growling from five miles away, but he seemed distracted. Though he didn't seem to notice, I was watching him glance at me every minute or so, only to look quickly down again. I was beginning to wonder what was going through his head about me. I'd have to ask Edward later. I hoped he would pick up on it.

Eventually, Ryan handed his food over to Seth, one of the younger werewolves of the batch. It was only a plateful- a small amount for the wolves- but Seth seemed happy about it anyway. I'd quickly taken a liking to Seth. He was a cute kid and not quite as reckless as the rest of them. Though I couldn't see how he could live with his sister. To put it very nicely, she was highly opinionated and strongly supported those opinions. She annoyed me with those opinions.

As the party moved on, I began to realize most of the werewolves didn't trust me. Especially the other pack- not Jacob's. Edward had told me what he knew of the pack's separation- which was more than the others, due to his ability.

Ryan began staring at me again. Once he looked like he was coming over to talk to me, then he stopped again, hesitantly, glancing at Jacob. Finally I went inside because he was creeping me out. Though no one looked at me, I was sure they noticed.

Once inside, I found a nice, dark part of the staircase and sat there, my big poofy dress resting neatly in the shadows around me. This dress reminded me of a more casual version of something _they'd _put me in. I quickly distracted myself from those thoughts, not wanting to give myself away to Edward. Not so soon, anyway.

I suddenly wondered what Bella's opinion of me spending so much time with her mate was. _I_ knew that the only reason for that was because I was curious about the Cullens' life, but did she? Edward could give me the answers I wanted, but maybe Bella thought that wasn't all I wanted. I remembered Alice telling me that Bella's ability was a shield, so Edward couldn't hear her thoughts. Had he ever considered that possibility?

At that moment, Alice came into the house, interrupting my thoughts. She quickly located me on the stairs, and was by my side in a flash.

"Hey, Leslie!" She greeted, smiling. "You okay? You came in here all the sudden, it worried me a little."

"Yeah, fine," I assured her, returning a smile. "I'm not good with big crowds."

"Feeling out of place?" Alice guessed correctly. "Don't worry, they'll all get used to you eventually. I mean, I should know, right?" She laughed and I laughed along with her. "Well, Renesmee's going to be opening her presents soon. I thought you'd want to be out there for that. Or, at least, she wants you out there." I looked up, surprised.

"She really asked for me?" I questioned in disbelief. I hadn't thought Nessie had really put me high on her friends list. I figured she was more like Bella, who was friendly around me, but still wary in case I lost it.

"Yup, she asked for you personally!" Alice nodded. "Come on, have I ever steered you wrong?"

"Yes," I scoffed, examining the fancy dress I was in. She rolled her eyes.

"You'll see," she said jokingly. "I'm sure you'll be the center of attention every time you let me dress you. Come on, you've gotta admit that what I've gotten you is better than that crappy outfit you came here in."

"No, no I don't," I said, briskly standing up. I wanted to yell at her that that crappy outfit I came here in was the only thing I'd ever really owned as a vampire, and had cost me all of the little money I had once owned. But, I knew she was just trying to make me feel better, so I kept my mouth shut.

"Come on, let's go," Alice grabbed my arm. "They can't start until you're out there!"

I allowed her to drag me quickly outside. It wasn't like everyone made a big deal out of our arrival, but it was obvious to me that some kind of signal had been set off. The vampires all gathered around the gift table, grabbing up the fancily wrapped presents that they'd gotten her.

"Alice..."

"Oh, that's right, your present!" Alice snapped before I even asked. "It's in my room, I'll go get it."

"Thanks," I sighed. Alice had agreed to hide my present for me since I'd refused to steal their nice, sparkly, thirty-dollar wrapping paper. I'd gotten Edward to argue with me, since he could see what Alice could. It was quite interesting. After I'd gotten him on my side, they stared eachother down for about five minutes, a war of the minds. Then Alice sighed and retreated to the kitchen to oversee the cake-making.

Suddenly, Bella's voice snapped me out of my memories, for some reason.

"Renesmee, present time!" she called.

My head instantly snapped over to Renesmee, my mind expecting something to happen. Alice watched me from halfway through the door. Suddenly, her eyes glazed over and a horrified expression filled her face.

Nessie began running towards her mother. In the next instant, she tripped over the frilly dress that Alice had put her in. Bella was by her side in an instant as the salty smell of her blood flooded my senses. I tried to hold my breath, but it was too late.

I lost control.

**A/N Dun dun dun! Cliffhanger! I haven't really done one of those for awhile. Hope it was ok. I can't say much more without giving anything away, really. You probably knew this would happen sooner or later, right? I would find it so funny to watch Alice and Edward argue. **

**-You might want to go back and take a look at the last chapters because now there are divider lines between Leslie's and Ryan's POV so it should make a little more sense. **

**-I have created a poll for this story, so don't forget to vote in that! And, lastly...**

**As always R&R or no chappie for you! (Please?)**


	5. Chapter 5: The Truth

**A/N Due to previous cliffhanger, I was almost positive you'd be dying to read the next chapter and therefore _R&R _to get it. But I waited you out this long, and still haven't gotten ANYTHING. So, if you have even the slightest desire to see this story continue, then I suggest pressing the pretty little review button so you get another chapter. Because I can easily write this up for myself and never let you know what happens. **

**Disclaimer: I own nothing from the books that you recognize, ok people?**

**Chapter 5: The Truth **

Everything happened at once. I felt myself lunge at Renesmee in slow motion. The other vampires rushed in front of Bella and Nessie. The wolves followed, covering their sides. Emmett pushed me back and I landed against a tree, leaving an imprint in it. Ryan jumped in front of me in a protective stance, growling at the Cullens and his pack, who were all so much bigger than him.

I snapped out of my hunting mode, denying my instincts. I was shaking from head to toe at my sudden outburst. What if Bella hadn't been there? I could have seriously hurt Renesmee- even have killed her. I was horrified, and pretty sure they could all see that twisted up on my face.

"Alright, everybody, let's just calm down," Carlisle took charge, though I could still hear the tension in his voice. All that had happened in the matter of a few seconds. Luckily that was enough for the father figure of the family to pull himself together. Some of the wolves were shaking just like me, but not for the same reasons. They were fighting themselves not to morph- I'd seen it before.

"I-I'm sorry," I struggled to get the words out. I was looking over Ryan's shoulder. His arms were spread out protectively, blocking the group from me. I didn't have time to wonder what he was thinking or why he was thinking it.

"It's ok, Leslie," Alice said from near the front of the crowd. "It's my fault- I should have seen this coming."

"It's no one's fault, Alice," Carlisle assured her. "Nothing happened. Everyone's okay."

"Except for Renesmee's scraped knee," Jacob mumbled.

"And Leslie being completely traumatized," Ryan added almost accusingly under his breath. I realized I was still shaking, and suddenly felt about to fall over. If I was still human, my heart would have been beating at a hundred miles a minute.

I struggled to calm myself and stay upright, which was a big task. I glanced up at Edward, wanting badly to know what everyone else was thinking now as he only could. (I also noted that Bella was watching my almost instinctive reaction and let out a small hiss.) He was staring at Ryan with a look of amazement and confusion. I pushed the werewolf's arm gently down out of my way, and he glanced back at me questioningly. I chose to ignore him.

"I'm so sorry," I apologized again softly. "I lost it. I guess I'm still not good at controlling myself around human blood. I knew something like this would happen if I stuck around." I shook my head quickly, feeling so stupid.

"I'm going to fix up Renesmee," Bella said, probably not wanting to hear my apology. She disappeared with her daughter into the house in a half-second.

"It's okay, it's okay!" Alice said quickly. "We were expecting something like this, so nothing bad happened, right? Not to say that I was doubting your ability to control yourself... But... but...I just mean..." For a change, she seemed to be at a loss for words. I felt sorry for her and myself, and really everyone else who was stupid enough to trust me enough to let me join this party.

"I told you," Rosalie huffed. Instantly after that, talk started up. I managed to glare at the blonde in my shocked state.

I hadn't realized Jasper had been using his calming ability until now. That's what had kept them so quiet. He was now directing it mostly towards me and Ryan, and I felt a little better. Ryan relaxed his defensive position.

"Guys, Nessie's going to be back anytime now," Jacob called all our attentions. "This is still her birthday party, and let's not forget that. She survived a meeting with the Volturi, I'm sure she won't be too badly shaken by this little incident. She's still really excited about it, so try to act natural and have fun, okay?"

I had almost forgotten the Volturi coming to Forks and immortal children stuff up until now. I still didn't know the full story, but I knew Jacob was right. The Volturi were horrifying, as probably all the vampires here knew... especially me.

I quickly blocked those thoughts from my mind to keep Edward from reading them. Instead I though of Renesmee and my gift to her. I was sure he'd find that suspicious... if he had been paying any attention. His stare was still fixed on Ryan, who stayed in front of me, but had since turned more blank.

"Alice..." I began.

"Yeah, Les?" she asked.

"I believe you were in the middle of retrieving my present."

"Oh, yeah, right," she chuckled. "Sorry." In a flash she was gone, and I went to join the back of the crowd. The group had moved back over by the presents table to wait for Nessie and Bella to return. They were between me and the front door, probably on purpose. Except for Ryan. He stayed about a foot to my right.

Alice came back with my present in the next three seconds, handing the dictionary-sized canvas to me. It was facing in my direction so no one else would see, and I quickly pulled it to my chest.

"Thanks, Alice."

"No problem!" the psychic vampire answered cheerily. "You know, you can come join me up near the front. I promise nothing will happen."

"That's ok," I rejected. "I'm much more comfortable back here, anyways. After the, you know..."

"That's fine, I guess..." Alice agreed disappointedly. "I suppose it would put everyone at ease if there was a bullet-proof wall of vampires, and angry wall of werewolves between you and Nessie."

Ryan growled at the mention of his packmates. Alice just looked from me to him once then giggled before leaving.

Bella and Edward were up with their daughter, watching her open the presents, while Carlisle and Esme stayed off closer to the table that was once full of presents. I was sure they were being polite to me- neutral- and not making up part of the blockade. Emmett was closer to the end with them, as well. I knew his strength would be necessary if I lost it again, but he seemed to like me a little more than some of the others. Rosalie seemed torn between her mate and being in the front line of defense. Alice and Jasper were closer to the middle, but off to the left.

The werewolves were forming around me. Ryan had moved closer, only inches away now, and two of the others –Quil and Embry, I recognized- had stayed a couple inches up from us and stood one on each side. Then Paul and Leah were in front of us farther, and closer together. For the most part, we were blocked in. Then Jacob was up with Renesmee, like he usually was, and Seth sat on the ground mid-way between Rosalie and Alice, just enjoying himself like Nessie was.

Most of the werewolves had gotten her toys that were somehow wolf-related, which Nessie liked. Then Jasper and Alice gifted her with one of those calming light things that were supposed to dance around your room in rainbow colors. The vampires all got a kick out of that. Rosalie presented her with an expensive-looking set of lotions and sparkly hairclips. Nessie found the hairclips pretty, but I'm not sure she knew entirely what to think about the lotions. Emmett didn't want to put his name on _that _gift, so instead he pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket, which was a coupon for a free piggy back ride, which excited Nessie, and didn't seem to appeal much to her mother.

When it came to Carlisle and Esme's turn, the family's mother figure had to run into the house. She was out again quickly with a stack of yellow-covered books. _Nancy Drew_- something I remembered faintly from my human life. After Nessie was done going through the whole pile, examining the covers, each with a newfound gleam of mystery coming to her eyes, Alice called on me.

"Neither of you two have gone yet," She smiled, referring to Ryan and I.

"Alice, I don't think..."

"What, couldn't manage to come up with a good enough present?" Emmett teased. I shot him a playful glare.

"You gave her a piece of paper with writing," I shot back. "Can't get much worse than that, can it?" He shrugged.

"Probably true."

I stepped forward slowly, feeling the werewolves and Rosalie stiffen as I did so, adjusting their position with mine. Ryan followed closely behind me, having been called up as well. I kept my eyes on Renesmee, managing a smile. I leaned down so I was her height, my dress being a nuisance again and puffing out around me as I did so.

"Here you are, Nessie," I said softly, handing the canvas out to her. I didn't dare breathe, being as close as I was. "Sorry it's nothing to unwrap."

The girl took the painting from my hands, turning it around so that she could see it. She gasped before a huge, beautiful smile spread across her face. I caught Edward's eyes widen slightly as he saw what was in her mind.

"Look," Nessie said to Bella, handing her my present before turning back to hug me. She thanked me in her own way, and I dared to breathe enough to talk.

"You're welcome," I replied in the same soft tone I'd used before. Her scent bugged me a little, since the blood on her knee was still relatively fresh, but it was easier since she also smelled like a vampire. At least she didn't seem to be scared of me, which made me feel a little better. Bella moved my present off to the side with the others, resting it neatly against the house for the others to see.

I had to back off so Ryan could give her his gift, but I didn't move too far off, noticing him watching how far I went. Nessie tore the flashy, shimmering, golden paper off the small box, then popped up the lid. She pulled it's contents out, putting the box carefully aside. In her small fist, she held up a pink flower on a golden chain that caught the light and sparkled in a way much similar to the wrapping paper that had previously covered it.

She turned and put it in her mother's hand, telling Bella something that was unseen by the rest of us- excluding her father. Renesmee turned back around, waiting. In one swift movement, the necklace was hanging at her chest. She hugged Ryan, thanking him like she'd thanked me.

"Aw, you're welcome, Nessie," He replied, smiling. "Glad you like it. And it even matches your dress!" I couldn't help but laugh at the excited girl, her happiness making me feel a little better.

Renesmee's parents and Jacob were the last to give her their presents. Knowing Bella, I was sure she'd insist that they share a present as not to go overboard with spending. I had found that she'd never liked Edward spending a lot of money on her and had tried to enforce that with her daughter. That's why she got a CD player with a small stack of various types of music to go with it. Then Edward threw in his own CD, which Bella didn't seem to happy with.

"I didn't spend any money- promise," he assured his mate, making her relax a little more.

Jacob gave his present last- a charm bracelet which matched the one on Bella's wrist, with a wolf charm that was noticeably darker than her mother's. Nessie seemed to be exceptionally excited about this.

"I'll have to get you a charm now, too, I suppose," he sighed, pretending to be exasperated at Jacob. Nessie laughed, being taken into the werewolf's arms so she could hug him too.

Almost too quickly after that, cleaning commenced and the werewolves departed. I wasn't quite sure where Emmett dragged all the garbage off to, just that it was too big to fit in their trashcan.

Then we were all settled back into the living room and Renesmee was asleep on Bella's lap, still in her new dress. Jacob was sitting beside them, looking half-asleep himself, watching over the little girl.

Alice and I were standing off to the side, near the door.

"Why is Jacob always around Nessie?" I asked Alice quietly. "He seems really attached to her. It's almost like... well, it's kinda weird and..."

"Creepy?" Alice asked, matching my tone. I nodded slightly. She giggled. "I can see why you'd think that. In truth, it's a werewolf thing. It's called imprinting." She glanced over to see my reaction. I was frozen in place, fascinated by this wolfy connection thing.

"It's kind of like love at first sight, but not necessarily," Alice began, looking thoughtful. "It's kind of hard to explain. But basically it's a bond formed to last eternity. The werewolf who's imprinted will do anything for the object of their imprinting. Their ultimate goal in life becomes whatever she wants. For awhile they won't ever want to leave her, but according to Jacob it becomes better over time. Bella once explained it as Jacob had told her as being it's no longer anything else that holds you to earth- it's her."

"Wow, that's..." I was mostly at a loss for words. "Amazing."

"Interesting, definitely," Alice agreed. "Though no one's quite figured out why they do that, yet. Jacob's and Quil's fathers both have a theory, but nothing's been proven or disapproved yet."

"I think it's time to get Renesmee home," Bella announced loud enough for all of us to hear without waking Nessie. Jake stood up.

"That means it's time for me to get going, too," he yawned, stretching. Edward broke off from Jasper and Carlisle in the corner of the room. They had been having their own little discussion the whole time that had escaped my notice. Esme was participating from the end of the couch. Emmett and Rosalie stood nearby, listening in. Rosalie added something at Carlisle. Emmett patted Edward on the back as he passed.

"Good luck," he smirked.

"Leslie, I need to talk to you for a minute," Edward said calmly, ignoring his brother. I looked over at him questioningly, but his face revealed nothing. I wondered what could be so serious that he was taking me away from all the others just to tell me. And the whole family had been in on the conversation, which made me a little nervous.

Edward hurried upstairs, and I followed right after him. We stood in a room that was covered in a thin layer of dust and obviously for show. I figured it must have been Edward's, since him and Bella had a cottage out in the woods now.

"What's going on? Why is everyone all worked up about something? Why'd you have to bring me up here just to tell me something?" I demanded. Edward remained calm.

"Don't worry, Leslie, everything's fine," he tried to reassure me. "You have nothing to worry about."

I realized he was waiting until I had regained my cool to tell me. That knowledge only freaked me out further, but I was also dying of curiosity, so I had to make an effort to relax.

I took a couple deep breaths, listening to the rhythms of the only two beating hearts in the house downstairs. I stood perfectly still, looking up at Edward. He waited a couple seconds to see if I was going to freak out again, and took the chance to read my thoughts. In the back of my mind, they were swimming with all sorts of things and wouldn't shut up.

"Alright, I suppose this is going to be as calm as you'll get," Edward sighed.

"Well, sorry," I retorted. "The rest of the house is in on some big secret involving me that you can't tell me unless you take me away from the rest of them. In my mind, that's usually reason for a bit of panic."

"Alright, you win," Edward chuckled. He took a deep breath before continuing. "You might want to brace yourself for this. It's weird, even for us vampires."

"Just tell me, _please_," I begged. There were a few seconds of pause that seemed to last a lifetime. I heard dead silence coming from downstairs. Not even a heartbeat- Bella and Jacob had left along with Renesmee.

"Ryan," Edward breathed, "has imprinted on you."

**A/N What truth were you expecting? Sorry to those of you who I ruined this for in the last chapter. I've gone back and fixed that since. If anyone didn't read the old version of last chapter, did you see this coming? (My stupid obviousness...) Don't forget to R&R or I swear I will stop this story from coming up here. **


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